Landlords suck
October 14, 2010 12:00 PM Subscribe
Sued our landlord for wrongful withholding of large deposit and won, placed liens on their property, which were foreclosed and they declared bankruptcy. How do we make sure we can still recover our money?
We have recieved notices of foreclosure and sale at auction for multiple properties, but they have been postponing sales for months and we're worried we're last in line to get our money back. Is there a way we can ensure our judgment isn't wiped out as part of the bankruptcy proceedings, and is there a legal service we could contact about this sort of thing? Any advice would be great, we're very unsure about how this proceeds. Even how we'd get our money out of a public sale of the properties we have abstracts against.
We have recieved notices of foreclosure and sale at auction for multiple properties, but they have been postponing sales for months and we're worried we're last in line to get our money back. Is there a way we can ensure our judgment isn't wiped out as part of the bankruptcy proceedings, and is there a legal service we could contact about this sort of thing? Any advice would be great, we're very unsure about how this proceeds. Even how we'd get our money out of a public sale of the properties we have abstracts against.
Contact an attorney in your area. How big are the judgments?
posted by Ironmouth at 12:03 PM on October 14, 2010
posted by Ironmouth at 12:03 PM on October 14, 2010
The firm where I used to work handled enforcements of judgment when bankruptcy intervened. It's pretty complicated. The Bankruptcy Courts all have pro bono legal services, but I don't know if they offer any services to creditors. I suggest you contact them because if they don't help creditors, they may know who will. You can also call a tenant's legal services and ask if they know any resources available to you. Finally, I know that the Alameda County Volunteer Legal Services Corporation does an annual legal services directory, you can look there for referrals.
posted by crush-onastick at 12:21 PM on October 14, 2010
posted by crush-onastick at 12:21 PM on October 14, 2010
Seconding contact an attorney, and you want to be fast. It will depend on where you are listed as far as creditors are concerned. Since you have a judgement, you need to be on the list.
posted by 6:1 at 12:30 PM on October 14, 2010
posted by 6:1 at 12:30 PM on October 14, 2010
Can you sell the property since it's foreclosed on? Isn't that sort of the point of foreclosure and liens?
posted by musofire at 12:33 PM on October 14, 2010
posted by musofire at 12:33 PM on October 14, 2010
If at all possible, you should contact an attorney. If you had a valid lien on the property before the bankruptcy, you have rights and you would not be last in line (although you may not be first in line, either). But there are fairly short time limits in bankruptcy cases, and if you don't act before the expiration of those limits you can lose your rights, or have them subordinated (i.e., you end up at the end of the line).
musofire: "Can you sell the property since it's foreclosed on? Isn't that sort of the point of foreclosure and liens"
The start of the bankruptcy automatically "stays" any act against the debtor or property of the debtor. So no, you can't just foreclose. You can, however, go to the bankruptcy court and explain why you should be permitted to foreclose. This happens all the time in bankruptcy (as you can imagine) and courts routinely grant "relief from stay" motions. It is conceivable that the OP could represent himself pro se (bankruptcy courts are generally quite friendly toward pro se debtors and creditors), but there are statutory requirements to getting relief from the automatic stay. These are things that your typical bk attorney can recite backwards and forward, and should not be terribly expensive, but are probably more than a non-expert should take on.
posted by lex mercatoria at 1:54 PM on October 14, 2010
musofire: "Can you sell the property since it's foreclosed on? Isn't that sort of the point of foreclosure and liens"
The start of the bankruptcy automatically "stays" any act against the debtor or property of the debtor. So no, you can't just foreclose. You can, however, go to the bankruptcy court and explain why you should be permitted to foreclose. This happens all the time in bankruptcy (as you can imagine) and courts routinely grant "relief from stay" motions. It is conceivable that the OP could represent himself pro se (bankruptcy courts are generally quite friendly toward pro se debtors and creditors), but there are statutory requirements to getting relief from the automatic stay. These are things that your typical bk attorney can recite backwards and forward, and should not be terribly expensive, but are probably more than a non-expert should take on.
posted by lex mercatoria at 1:54 PM on October 14, 2010
This is why you never pay your final month of rent. Always take it out of the deposit.
You will likely get nothing on the lien. Chances are the property is underwater and even the lender, first in line, won't be made whole by the foreclosure sale.
Beyond the lien you still have a judgement. Submit your claim to the bankruptcy court and see. It is better with a lawyer but a small claim like a security deposit can quickly be eaten up in legal fees. The court clerk can be of great help here. If you do decide to lawyer up make sure you get someone who specializes in bankruptcy.
posted by caddis at 2:12 PM on October 14, 2010
You will likely get nothing on the lien. Chances are the property is underwater and even the lender, first in line, won't be made whole by the foreclosure sale.
Beyond the lien you still have a judgement. Submit your claim to the bankruptcy court and see. It is better with a lawyer but a small claim like a security deposit can quickly be eaten up in legal fees. The court clerk can be of great help here. If you do decide to lawyer up make sure you get someone who specializes in bankruptcy.
posted by caddis at 2:12 PM on October 14, 2010
Talk to an attorney ASAP so you can get "in line" with the landlords' other creditors. If it's not a large sum of money, it may not be worth it, but IANAL, etc.
posted by elpea at 4:07 PM on October 14, 2010
posted by elpea at 4:07 PM on October 14, 2010
"This is why you never pay your final month of rent. Always take it out of the deposit".
Incorrect. One can't use a security deposit as a last month's deposit. Rent and condition are completely separate issues.
I wish you luck. It will be difficult to collect. Next to impossible without an attorney.
posted by naplesyellow at 7:24 PM on October 14, 2010
Incorrect. One can't use a security deposit as a last month's deposit. Rent and condition are completely separate issues.
I wish you luck. It will be difficult to collect. Next to impossible without an attorney.
posted by naplesyellow at 7:24 PM on October 14, 2010
Best answer: You are in my county. Here are some resources I recently tried --
- Bay Area Legal Aid (plan to spend 45 minutes on hold before you get through)
- East Bay Community Law Center (a UC Berkeley clinic) (if you call Bay Area Legal Aid first, they can tell you which if any of EBCLC's services you could qualify for; also see their self-help references)
- Housing Rights Lawyer Referral
- Housing and Economic Rights Advocates
- the self-help library at the county Superior Court (near the Lake Merritt BART, bring a book, closes at 4 pm)
Also, there's a big billboard on San Pablo near ... 35th? 28th? ... with a 1-800 number for renters having difficulty with their landlords that may be a service not included in the list above.
posted by slidell at 11:27 PM on October 14, 2010
- Bay Area Legal Aid (plan to spend 45 minutes on hold before you get through)
- East Bay Community Law Center (a UC Berkeley clinic) (if you call Bay Area Legal Aid first, they can tell you which if any of EBCLC's services you could qualify for; also see their self-help references)
- Housing Rights Lawyer Referral
- Housing and Economic Rights Advocates
- the self-help library at the county Superior Court (near the Lake Merritt BART, bring a book, closes at 4 pm)
Also, there's a big billboard on San Pablo near ... 35th? 28th? ... with a 1-800 number for renters having difficulty with their landlords that may be a service not included in the list above.
posted by slidell at 11:27 PM on October 14, 2010
Response by poster: "This is why you never pay your final month of rent. Always take it out of the deposit".
deposits shouldn't be used for last month's rent, but our sleazy landlord did not return ours because they knew it'd be really hard for us to make them. We moved out of that house over 2 years ago and still have not gotten it back. We would have done well to have just not paid last month's rent.
the judgment is now about 7k. The bankruptcy as far as I can tell doesn't lift their obligation to pay us, but it might cancel our liens. two of their three houses are in foreclosure. The bankruptcy will stop their sales at least for the foreseeable future.
posted by Large Marge at 8:00 AM on October 15, 2010
deposits shouldn't be used for last month's rent, but our sleazy landlord did not return ours because they knew it'd be really hard for us to make them. We moved out of that house over 2 years ago and still have not gotten it back. We would have done well to have just not paid last month's rent.
the judgment is now about 7k. The bankruptcy as far as I can tell doesn't lift their obligation to pay us, but it might cancel our liens. two of their three houses are in foreclosure. The bankruptcy will stop their sales at least for the foreseeable future.
posted by Large Marge at 8:00 AM on October 15, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Large Marge at 12:00 PM on October 14, 2010